Violent End Trivia Quiz

Answer: Minoan

The violent eruption that is estimated to have taken place between 1645 B.C. and 1500 B.C. is considered by geologists and historians as the most powerful and destructive volcanic eruption in world history. It is believed that the Minoan civilisation collapsed due to the destruction of the naval capabilities and the coastal towns and cities of Crete.

The island of Thera or Santorini as it is known now broke into three and a massive caldera was created.

Answer: Herculaneum

The eruption started on August 24 and for the next day or so the towns were engulfed with lava, ash and pumice. More than 10,000 people died as a result of the eruption and subsequent events. We have eye witness evidence for these events from Pliny the Younger.

Herculaneum is a lot smaller than Pompeii but it is preserved in a better condition. Another deadly eruption of Vesuvius occurred in 1631 with the loss of over 6,000 lives.

Answer: Iceland

The haze from the eruption covered an area that reached as far as Syria and North America. A quarter of Iceland's population starved to death due to crop failures and water contamination. In the Eastern United States the temperature fell by almost five degrees.

Answer: Tambora

The eruption of Tembora is believed to be the largest one in the past 10,000 years. The eruption was blamed for the year without summer in 1816. The eruption released enormous quantities of gases, ash and rocks. The eruption was also blamed for crop failures in America and diseases in Europe. The volcano is on the island of Sumbawa.

Answer: Krakatoa

Krakatoa or Krakatau erupted on August 26, 1883 and the explosion was heard four and a half thousand kilometres away. Ash spread in all directions and covered areas as far as one thousand kilometres away. The Sundra Straits remained in darkness for over a day. Giant waves, reaching 40 metres in height, destroyed the surrounding areas.

The island itself was obliterated and new islands emerged.

Answer: Japan

Mount Utzen is on the island of Kyushu very close to Nagasaki. It consists of a number of volcanoes. The eruption of 1792 as followed by a large earthquake that caused landslides from the surrounding mountains which in turned caused a massive tsunami when it reached the coast.

Answer: Martinique

The eruption broke the crater wall and a massive wave of lava and mud, moving at great speed, destroyed everything in its path and created a massive tsunami when it reached the coast. The tsunami washed over St. Pierre. The final obliteration came after a deadly blast of lava and hot gas.

Answer: Washington

Mount St.Helens became 1300 feet short after the eruption. 57 people died following the eruption. The eruption was caused by an earthquake that started a giant landslide that caused the explosion that spewed masses of gas and ash.

Answer: Nevado del Ruiz

The eruption came after a year of small earthquakes and steam explosions. The first explosion brought down ash and pumice and an order was made to evacuate the area. When the ash stopped coming down the evacuation was called off. A couple of hours later a huge explosion produced rivers of lava and blew hot ash in the air.

The snow started melting and the combined mud, lava and other debris swept away the village of Chinchina and the town of Armero.

Answer: Luzon

The effects of the eruption affected the whole world and lowered the temperature by about one degree. Despite the size of the explosion the fatalities were limited to about 300 because people did heed the warnings and evacuated the villages around Pinatubo.

At the same time as the eruption a hurricane was hitting the Philippines. The rain combined with the ash and pumice formed a substance as hard as cement which then rained down destroying the roofs of buildings in a very wide area. Luzon is the largest island of the Philippines.